Three

My Baby is three years old - but he will always be my baby boy! We all love you sooooo much my little man. xxxxx

These are a few of our favourite things

These are a few of our current favourites for simple play....

Rascal is loving these big, fat, liquid chalk pens - nice bright colours and so easy to use on the black board, windows or black paper (plus no chalky fingers for those littles who don't like icky fingers!) ...

 

bubbles ...  a perennial favourite  .....

  ...  and of coarse playdough. These garden printable are perfect for creating our own little garden with a bit of green play dough.

What are your current favoirte simple play ideas?

Wordless Wednesday - puggles very late birthday present!

Maybe it will end up being a Christmas present? Wish me luck!

Puggle is 2!

My baby boy is 2! How can that be - I don't know where the last year has gone but he has grown and changed so much. Being the cheeky little character that he is he even managed to spread the celebrations over several days and spent all week singing " Happy birthday to me!". So sweet.

 To celebrate the actual day we had  - as requested - pizza for dinner and then ...

 An improvised ice-cream cake which was eaten in ice-cream cones with extra sprinkles.

Then on the weekend we had a small family birthday party with a Thomas Number 2 cake. He loves blowing out candles and being the centre of attention. His big brother loved it too! Happy birthday my sweet Puggle. xxxx

Craft vandal

I haven't written any posts on art and craft activities for soooo long. 

The main reason is that a simple invitation to draw or colour usually ends in this .....

... half eaten craft supplies!

Yes despite being almost 2 my little puggle is still obsessed with having a little chew on everything he gets his hands on! So frustrating for his older brothers but I guess we will just have to wait a little longer to get back to those family art projects! Hope your week is going well and you are having more success with your arts and crafts.

See-Saw Smile

Puggle loves to move - he runs, he jumps, he swings and he just loves the see-saw at our local park.

Look at that smile -he is such a happy boy!

The breakfast apron

Like all my boys, Puggle has preferred to feed himself pretty much right from the start. For a long time he has also resisted any attempt on my part to get him to wear a bib. I do love his independents but I'm not quite so keen on all the mess.

I struggle to find good breakfast options for my youngest boys who are usually far too busy to sit still for more than a minute or two in the mornings. So I'm very happy that Puggle has become a fan of my breakfast porridge with blueberries.

However, it usually mean that a complete change of clothes is  needed after he has had his breakfast. 

 Last week, after having to change his clothes pretty much after every meal, I decided that perhaps an apron was in order. It is a bit harder to pull straight off than a bib and has the extra length which is needed to collect the little pile that gathers in his lap.

There is still plenty of cleaning up to do but hopefully a little less washing in the pile! Perhaps I need to make a few more of these little aprons.

Autumn leaf crowns

It is starting to feel very autumn like now in Perth so the boys and I have been doing a bit of autumn craft. 

We gathered a bowl full of gorgeous autumn leaves and with a few strips of cardboard and a stapler we made a some Autumn crowns.

Puggles turned out like bunny ears...

.. and even Jack Dog has a new crown!

Tape resist art.

I have been meaning to try this tape resist art project with my boys for a while and when I saw these mini canvas boards at the Educational Art Supplies shop last week I knew what I would use them for straight away.

I taped the first letter of the boys names onto each board using some masking tape and then let them paint whatever they wanted.

At first they painted over the masking tape but with a little encouragement they soon took to the whole board with enthusiasm.

I particularly liked Rascals approach where he painted over the board with a brush and then started drawing patterns in the paint with his fingers.

The paint bled a little under some of the tape so I might outline the letters with a felt marker (Sharpie) but I think the results are very pretty and will make a nice addition to the boys bedrooms. Puggle was asleep when the boys painted these so I have painted over his board with a pale green and I will let him loose with some marker pens which will be a little easier for his little hands to tackle (and I hope a little bit less messy)! 

Perth Zoo

Last week I took my two littlest boys to the Perth Zoo. We have been members on and off for a number of years and very time we go it remands me that we should visit more often.

At three, Rascal is the prefect age for a visit to the zoo and we had a great time exploring the African Savannah, watching the Orang-outangs hanging about and visiting the tigers and the elephants.

After a break for morning tea the boys had a great time paddling about in the play ground before we headed home.

Unfortunately we missed Rascals favorites - the Penguins so we will have to go back again soon!

Fort Friday

This morning before school the boys got busy with some outdoor play equipment, an old car cover, some pegs and bulldog clips.

 

They made a rocket to go to the moon - complete with moon buggy and digital imaging equipment. Such a shame to drag them away for the school run but it will still be there when they get home!

3!

Last week Rascal turned 3! Can you believe that? Where did that year go? We had a little celebrate the previous weekend but I seem to have been so flat out that I have only just got around to posting a couple of photos.

My loud, gorgeous, cheeky boy celebrated with a few friends and a bit of a toy story theme but wouldn't go near the Woody costume I made for him. Never mind - maybe Puggle will enjoy it in a year or two.

Summer

It looks like Summer is here. The sunflowers are out, the crickets are clicking away in the veggie garden ..... and Puggle is up by 5.15am every morning!

Warming up

It feels as though the nice mild spring we have been having is finally over with the temperature forecast to reach 36 degrees today, and 37 tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it because I'm not really a sun loving girl. With three boys that love being outdoors it also restricts what we can do for a large part of the day. So this week there will be ...

 several trips to the local (air conditioned) library,

lots of water play (especially in the mornings or late afternoons)

and lots of racking my brain to come up with some new indoor activities that will keep my little ones entertained without them totally trashing my house. Wish me luck!

Where have I been for so long

It seem like ages since I posted on this blog and the year is just flying by. Aussie Dad has been away for a couple of weeks which has made life pretty hectic for me but even with him back I'm having difficulty finding the time. I keep taking photos of what we have been up to but they haven't been making in into regular blog posts and with December almost here that may not change much. I have lots of Advent ideas swirling in my head but none of them have made it into reality yet - fingers crossed they do before the first of December. Anyway here is a little photo guide how we have been spending our days over the last few weeks. 

 Baking and eating

 Playing ball

 Drawing

and painting.

Playing with tongs

 and sorting lots of things.

Playing with dough

Making a splash.

 Trying to keep up with this young man (who is into everything).

and just hanging out. We have also been loving Naturescape at Kings Park but that is a whole other post. Hope to be back in the space again soon!